The PM sat at his desk and drummed his head with his fingers. He’d screwed up badly – and twice!
First of all he’d overlooked one important aspect of the new, more linear, power hierarchies. Whilst he remained sure of his abilities to cut through any red tape that had the temerity to get in his way, there was still the human element. He had the power to sack both Sir Neville and Mrs. Collier on the spot and make things very difficult for them afterwards, and that tacit threat alone, he presumed, should have been enough to make them follow his orders. But they had both flatly refused to give him authority for a drone strike, and they clearly had no intention of joining him on a jolly to the West Country either. Following a short and heated exchange he’d dismissed his security staff, but only from his office. He still intended to get his way on all of this but to do so would now require some old-fashioned diplomacy. Flattery, bribery? They weren’t politicians, so he’d have to think outside the box on that one… fear of being left outside the loop! That was it! He’d start dealing with the army instead... No, bypassing MI6 like that would be messy, unless he got Dosogne to do his dirty work for him. Hmm, maybe as a last resort...
The other screw-up concerned the Chancellor who, even before today, had been briefing journalists on “the Cabinet’s concerns” over the PM’s recent conduct. Now he would be apocalyptically furious, and was no doubt plotting the PM’s downfall. And who knows: if politics moved very quickly today, as it sometimes did, he could be out of a job before Dosogne had a chance to fully cement his power.
The PM continued to drum his head: all of these players would have to be appeased and cajoled, starting with the Chancellor. Apparently he’d been standing by his diary secretary and had heard the PM’s response to his request for an urgent meeting. Hopefully he was still too shocked to have started any actions…
The PM pressed his intercom:
‘Yes, Sir?’
‘Invite the Chancellor over here right away and please extend my sincerest apologies for my earlier outburst.’
‘Yes, Prime Minister.’
At least the Chancellor should recognize that since the “meteorite air blast” a state of emergency was in force, even if the outside world wasn’t aware of it.
The PM pressed his intercom again:
‘Yes, Sir?’
‘I’d also like you to invite the American ambassador over for drinks at 6pm. Also invite Sir Neville Stonehatch, actually make his invitation for 5:30.’
‘Yes, Prime Minister.’
Maybe the drone strike was premature, but he was going to go to Wiltshire and Stonehatch and Collier would be attending! Dosogne could see to that if need be. He reached for his phone and texted: 1800.
***